PAT CAPUTO: What should have been didn't happen for MSU, Michigan in 2012 WITH VIDEO

By PAT CAPUTO

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Who had the better season, Michigan or Michigan State?

The answer is apparent on two fronts.

Head to head, the Wolverines beat the Spartans for the first time since 2007. Also, the Wolverines had the better overall record, 8-5 compared to 7-6 for MSU, and did considerably better in Big Ten play - 6-2 compared to 3-5.

But neither team had what could be referred to as a stellar season, and there were aspects about what the Spartans' accomplished that trumped Michigan.

This is a sad indictment of Big Ten football, but the Spartans' season-opening victory over Boise State was arguably the conference's marquee non-league victory in 2012. It was the Big Ten's only victory over a non-conference team in the Top 25 of the most recent Associated Press Poll, other than Iowa's one-point season-opening win over Northern Illinois from the Mid-American Conference, which was overrun by Florida State in the Orange Bowl. Boise State is currently ranked 20th by the AP, but won its bowl game and will likely vault over a few teams, including Michigan, which is 19th, in the final poll.

Maybe Syracuse or Vanderbilt - teams Northwestern beat during the regular season - will get some love in the final AP Poll after winning their bowl games - but the Big Ten overall will not. A 2-5 bowl record is awful. The excuse it was caused because Ohio State and Penn State were not bowl eligible, and forced Big Ten teams to be shifted up against stronger opposition, is lame.

The one thing the Big Ten has used to defend itself against criticisms it isn't as competitive as it should be has been integrity. If anything, Ohio State got off easy for its off-the-field transgressions during the Jim Tressel era, and there are many - myself included - who wonder if Penn State should even be fielding a football team in the aftermath of the shockingly reprehensible Jerry Sandusky scandal.

The Spartans and Northwestern won their bowl games against mediocre teams from the Big 12 and the SEC. TCU, defeated by MSU by a point, was 3-5 in the Big 12. Mississippi State, downed by Northwestern, was 4-4 in the SEC.

To Michigan's credit, the Wolverines did beat both Northwestern and Michigan State this season, but the victories were narrow at home. The Spartans, on the other hand, secured a very good Big Ten victory amid their struggles - rallying to win at Wisconsin. It ended a 21-game home winning streak by Wisconsin.

Michigan had an easier Big Ten schedule than MSU, not having to play Wisconsin. Outside of the Legend's Division, the Wolverines' Big Ten opponents were Ohio State, Purdue and Illinois, while the Spartans also played Ohio State, in addition to Indiana and Wisconsin.

There were two teams Michigan did beat MSU didn't - Northwestern and Iowa. In some ways, the home upset loss to Iowa and allowing Michigan's Denard Robinson to complete a pass on third down with time running out were the only things that separated Michigan and MSU this season. In other words, not much.

Both teams should have done better, especially given the sorry current landscape of the Big Ten.

It wasn't progress for either program. Neither gained anything, really, in regard to in-state bragging rights this season.

Considering how well both teams did in 2011 - each garnering 11 wins - we'll see next season if it is a trend or just a bump in the road for Michigan and MSU.